Ford Airport names president and CEO

Gerald R. Ford International Airport named its new president and CEO today.

Author:
Charlsie Dewey, Grand Rapids Business Journal , WZZM

Published:
4:25 PM EST November 30, 2016

Updated:
7:28 PM EST November 30, 2016

Gerald R. Ford International Airport named its new president and CEO today.

The airport authority board voted unanimously to hire James “Jim” Gill to the position. He will officially take over leadership on Jan. 9, according to the Grand Rapids Business Journal.

Most recently, Gill has served as COO and CFO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority in Pittsburgh, which oversees Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport and serves more than eight-million passengers per year.

Gill replaces Brian Ryks, who resigned in March to accept a position as CEO of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Roger Morgan, board chairman of Ford airport, said Gill has a record of “strong leadership" and community partnerships and is “well respected” among his peers in the aviation industry.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jim to West Michigan, and we know he will thrive as the next CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport,” Morgan said.

Gill said he’s “delighted” to join Ford airport.

He said one of the things that attracted him to the airport is its growth.

Ford airport was named the top airport of its size in the region in 2015 by Airports Council International, and it welcomed 2.5-million passengers last year, setting a new record. It is on pace to break another passenger record for 2016.

Morgan and Floyd Wilson, an airport board member, headed the CEO search committee. Steve Baldwin & Associates, an airport management consulting firm based out of Albany, New York, assisted in the recruiting process.

You can read the entire story on the website of our partner, the Grand Rapids Business Journal, or pick up this week's edition of the Business Journal on your newsstand.